In this day and age, fair and ethical trade practices are an issue for companies in nearly every industry. However, while buyers of translation services might ask about the origin of the coffee in their double latte, they rarely question how their translations are produced beyond the standard process concerns. When they ask about the individuals working on projects, it is merely about their qualifications.

The reality is that most clients have little knowledge about the working conditions of participants in the translation supply chain, many of whom are on the other side of the globe working through intermediaries. Whether buyers of translation or language service providers (LSPs) themselves, they assume that all is well on the “worker bee” front and don’t verify whether labor or human rights are violated. This lack of oversight leads to a free-for-all where the best and the worst practices play out.